


Just One Lie

by EclipseOfTheWild



Category: One Piece
Genre: Drabble, Introspection, Monkey D. Luffy Loves His Friends, My personal take on how Luffy would react if he found out about the flag, Post-Lovely Land Arc, Short & Sweet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-26
Updated: 2020-04-26
Packaged: 2021-03-01 21:28:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23863783
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EclipseOfTheWild/pseuds/EclipseOfTheWild
Summary: He knew enough about the pirate world to know that his crew’s actions of going behind the captain’s back might’ve gotten them killed if they were in another crew, but really; the Strawhat Pirates weren’t exactly normal pirates, were they?
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Mugiwara Kaizoku | Strawhat Pirates
Comments: 5
Kudos: 84





	Just One Lie

**Author's Note:**

> Hey y'all! So this is my first (and most likely last) fanfic for One Piece  
> This has just been a thought that's been rolling around in my head for quite a while now so I hope that you enjoy!

The sea was calm, small waves lapping against the wooden hull of the Strawhat Pirates’ ship. The sky was painted with a collection of beautiful colors as the sun slowly set on the horizon. On the ship the crew was scattered about the ship; Zoro was training in the crow’s nest, Sanji was cooking dinner in the kitchen, Nami was drawing maps in her room, Robin was reading on the deck, Usopp and Chopper were sitting together as the former spouted some fantastical tale, Franky was below-deck working on the ship, and their captain- Luffy- was by himself, watching the water.

Luffy was usually quite loud and tended to enjoy interacting with his crew- even if they weren’t exactly in the mood for his abundant energy. However in that current moment he was in a rare moment of quiet, contemplating something as he stared silently at the ocean. This behavior had only begun after they had departed from ‘Lovely Land’. Something about what happened had bothered him more than he would think it would- and it involved their precious Jolly Roger which was innocently flying from their mast.

He just couldn’t shake the feeling that his crew was hiding something from him, but he couldn’t find it in him to bring it up, because he wasn’t one to doubt his own crew members. Yet something felt wrong to him. Luffy turned from the sea to look at the Jolly Roger, scrunching up his face in apparent concentration.

Wordlessly, he used his rubber arms to propel himself up to the flag, gazing at it thoughtfully. To his disappointment, he suspicions were confirmed right then; the cloth held tears right where it was tied- like it had been torn right from the mast. The flag could have been damaged in one of the many skirmishes they’ve had with the navy or other pirates, but in that specific spot…there was only one way it could’ve happened.

The bounty hunter never lied to him- his crew did…but why? Why would they lie about something like that? He wouldn’t have been mad at them- they did get it back after all, and they were his precious comrades, he could never truly be mad at them. Even now he couldn’t find it in him to be mad. Maybe he felt a flicker of disappointment at their attempted deception, but not anger.

He didn’t doubt his crew either. He knew he wasn’t the smartest person in the world, but he knew his friends well, and he knew that they wouldn’t betray him. They lied about the flag, but in the end it was most likely a matter of pride on their part. If he was in their position, he would’ve told them, but he just couldn’t blame them for not telling him.

Luffy, if anything, felt a bit proud of his crew. They worked so hard to get it back before he even knew that it was gone, and they succeeded too. If the bounty hunter hadn’t have told him about the flag in the first place, he most likely wouldn’t have ever found out about it. Even when he wasn’t in the know, he could still rely on his crew to fix things.

So no, he wasn’t mad.

Maybe he wished that they had at least been honest afterwards, but at the same time he didn’t feel the need to address it. He knew enough about the pirate world to know that his crew’s actions of going behind the captain’s back might’ve gotten them killed if they were in another crew, but really; the Strawhat Pirates weren’t exactly normal pirates, were they?

All that mattered to him was that the Jolly Roger was flying on the mast where it belonged, and that all of his crew was safe and sound. 

“Oi! Come get your dinner, shitheads!” He heard Sanji call from below.

A smile stretched across his face and Luffy rocketed down back to his friends. His crew lied to him that day, and he wouldn’t forget that, but he still loved them unconditionally. There were no words that needed to be spoken, no actions that needed to be taken, because Luffy had already forgiven them.

He never needed an apology, because all he needed were the smiles of his crew. That was more than enough for him. As long as they were happy, and as long as everything turned out okay, he was satisfied.

However, in the coming days, he did notice that he was given more meat than usual, that Nami’s punches were just a bit softer, that Usopp and Chopper spent more time with him, and that Franky showed off his inventions to Luffy more often. It was maybe their way of saying sorry, and maybe it wasn’t exactly intentional, and it wasn’t truly necessary to Luffy, but he did appreciate the sentiment nonetheless. 

His faith in his crew was unfaltering, no matter what, and there was no way that he’d let a single lie ruin that. He trusted them, and he knew that they trusted him when it came down to it. They had each other’s backs, and there was no crew in the world that he’d rather have.

It was certainly a crew worthy of a Pirate King, after all.


End file.
